Discussion Forum Post Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Discussion Forum Post - Essay Example I do agree with Castiglione to some extent, but I think that he overlooked the fact that for individuals to perform well they need to acquire experience in the field they are engaged in. I think that no man can be perfect in all areas; everyone has a strong and a weak point. In addition, he never considered the moral values of a gentleman. This is emphasised in the book The American gentleman where the author describes a gentleman as a person who gives room for character development. He is a person that proves to others that he is committed to following the moral high road and acquires his personality and continuously developing, which is associated with his actions. The author also highlights that being a gentleman necessitated self-sacrifice, needs efforts and that a gentleman offers himself freely without expectations for anything in return (Hall v). Yes I agree with Machiavelli’s conviction that a leader must never trust anyone because as written in the selected political writings it is hard to anticipate an armed person would obey a defenceless person gratefully or a person who is not armed would feel secure in the hands of armed employees. This is due to the fact an armed individual disrespects a person who is not armed, and the defenceless person does not have confidence in anyone who can overthrow him. The author describes a wise ruler as the one who is always working in periods of peace taking the advantage of the calm period to prepare for trouble and when disaster strikes he must be ready to retaliate (Machiavelli & Wootton

Japanese Canadians During Wwii Essay Example for Free

Japanese Canadians During Wwii Essay Japanese people were blamed for everything from a bad crop to a flat tire† (Biase). Japanese Canadians claimed they were given many dirty and hateful looks, and overheard â€Å"people cursing at Japanese for their car troubles† (Biase). The Japanese Canadians were being punished for a crime they did not commit. Canada’s only defence for its actions was that, â€Å"Japanese people were not white and they ‘could’ be spies† (Biase). This meant people were suspicious and literally afraid of Japanese for being spies sent from Japan. As a result, Japanese Canadians had to deal with being blamed for things they did not deserve, thus resulting in being treated unjustly as a human being. This notice was distributed throughout British Columbia. If any Japanese were found in the prohibited areas listed, they would be incarcerated. Thirdly, the Japanese Canadians were sent to internment camps across Canada against their will. In Canada, there were 10 internment camps where, â€Å"3 were road camps, 2 were prisoner of war camps (POW) and 5 were self-supporting camps† (Robinson). Internment camps is a â€Å"large detention  center created for political opponents,  enemy aliens, people with  mental illness, members of specific ethnic or religious groups, civilian inhabitants of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, usually during a war† (Dictionary). In this case, internment camps in Canada at the time were designed for only Japanese Canadians. Internment camps were labour/work camps, which required heavy-duty work for the 22,000 imprisoned Japanese Canadians to do. Since World War II caused a large shortage of farmers, especially sugar beet farmers, the Security Commission Council organized, â€Å"Sugar beet projects to combat the labour shortage. This gave Japanese males a choice. The choice was to work in road camps as slaves or go to the beet camps and be with their families. Working in the beet camp was the choice taken by the majority of Japanese married men† (Biase). Considering the Japanese Canadians had to live inside the camps, the living conditions inside the internment camps were poor. They were crowded and were primitive with no electricity or running water. A story from Hideo Kukubo tells what life was like during the war: â€Å"I was in that camp for four years. When it got cold the temperature went down to as much as 60 below. The buildings stood on flat land beside a lake. We lived in huts with no insulation. Even if we had the stove burning the inside of the windows would all be frosted up and white, really white. I had to lie in bed with everything on that I had at one time there were 720 people there, all men, and a lot of them were old men. This is just one of the many horrible stories the Japanese Canadians experienced. Therefore, the Japanese Canadians were treated unfairly when they were forced to work and live in internment camps. In conclusion, the Japanese Canadians suffered during the period 1929 to 1945. They had their property and rights taken from them, they were blamed for unnecessary things and forced into camps where labour was the only thing you did all day. Therefore, when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced a historic redress settlement for the Japanese Canadians on September 22, 1988, it truly was the best thing to do, even though it was long overdue.

The New York Crystal Palace :: Architecture History

The New York Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of Art and Industry "The Crystal Palace is a partial picture of the age; an exposition of the comforts and luxuries, the manners and attainments which belong to our civilization." -B. Silliman & C. R. Goodrich (The World of Science, Art and Industry at the Crystal Palace, New York, 1854) On July 14, 1853, the Great Exhibition of Art and Industry began in New York City, New York, with the commemoration of the Crystal Palace, the central exhibition hall. The next day, President Franklin Pierce inaugurated the event with a grand ceremony. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis was also on hand. Modeled on the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, which had opened a few years earlier for the Exhibition of the Products of the Art and Industry of All Nations, New York's Crystal Palace was larger than its predecessor, and it inspired everyone who saw it. This exhibition included a display of sculpture that was probably the largest ever held in the United States up to that time. There was also a separate gallery for the display of paintings. It was the first world's fair to include a separate picture gallery as part of its exhibits. This image is Stuart's Topological Map of the Crystal Palace and Guide to the Revised Official Catalogue of the Exhibition of the Industries of All Nations. The map was prepared by Henri C. Stuart and published by G.P. Putnam and Co. for the use of visitors to the New York Crystal Palace. With the accompanying legend, visitors would be able to see the layout of all the exhibit classes in the building, as well as the entrances and stairways. As seen in this plan, all the room in the spacious building was used for displaying the different forms of industry. The position of the Machine Gallery in relation to the Crystal Palace can also be seen. The restrooms are between the Palace and the Gallery, adjacent to Saloon areas for the Gents and Ladies respectively. In addition, for the convenience of visitors, a note below the map states, "Wherever this sign (*) occurs on the diagram, is a prominent point of interest to the visitor." The sculptures displayed along the main naves are clearly labeled, so that one could use them as "You Are Here" signs to know where one was on the diagram.

Art Comparison Essay example -- essays research papers

Compare and Contrast Works of Art Bright colors jumping at you asking for attention, images so real viewers can not tell the difference. These are the thoughts that came to my head as I gazed at two works of art by two Mexican artists at MoLAA museum of art . I visited two museums, Bowers Museum of cultural Art in the heart of Southern California and the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach for my report unfortunately I only liked the works in MoLAA and will talk about it through out my paper. I will talk about two Mexican artists Rafael Cauduro and David Alfaro Siqueros that caught my eye, and made me want to learn more of them and their approach to art. Siqueiros caught my eye and interest because according to his biography â€Å"no individual associated with the arts with the possible exception of Andrà © Malraux, had been involved in direct political action more than David Alfaro Siqueiros† (Siqueiros Biography online). Personally that to me said a lot and that got me intrigued, and made me want to know more about him and his work. Cauduro on the other hand got me intrigued through his illusionistic approach to art and interpretation of his view of things. Eve thought they seem like different approach to art they are both similar in different ways. My first artist is Rafael Cauduro. Rafael Cauduro was born in capital city of Mexico and now resides in the city of Cuernavaca (state of Morelos) 1950. Rafael started out making superior studies of architecture and industrial design in the Latin American University in Mexico City. According to his biography Cauduro is a self taught painter who steps outside of traditional artist’s standard. Cauduro’s paintings contain a â€Å"trompe de l’oeil† (Fool the eye) quality as indicated in by how in his paintings walls, fences, and objects are so real that people can almost touch them. To the visual realism of Cauduros work, according to critic Ruiz Soto, adds what he termed â€Å"critical illusion† which combines an extreme technical proficiency with fantasy-filled concepts(www.rafael cauduro.com). Rafael Cauduro painting technique is of a surrealism in which the reality of dreams, or subconscious mind are as more real than the surface reality of everyday life (Sayre p.51). Cauduro paints in a Surrealistic way usually portraying the forces of dreams and subconscious that he has been famous for. This artistic movement originat... ...eiros and Cauduro works are politically motivated, but like people, depict them in their own way. Siqueiros because of his military background and more no nonsense look at life is more straight forward as compared to Cauduro, but have similar objectives. Cauduro a more recent unknown artist is more contemporary in the sense that explorers the mind of viewers and makes them think and come with their own conclusion of his views. I liked both of these artist and enjoyed learning more about them and how similar they were, yet so different in terms of style. Art is a language of its own and with out he proper understanding, people are like expression goes â€Å"left on the outside looking in†. In other words, people without the proper understanding of art, technique and form as well as other elements can’t appreciate a work of art as much as when you understand why an artist painted in the way they did and what they are trying to get across to his audience. Despite artists attempts to try and make their works as viewer friendly as possible, without the understanding and knowledge gained from an art class as this one people will never fully understand the a work of art as it is meant to be.

Mongol Change and Continuity

Matthew Choi Period 4 11/25/12 MONGOLS CCOT ESSAY The Mongols were a vast and influential empire that spread throughout Eurasia. From the time of Genghis Khan to the Yuan dynasty, the Mongols experienced numerous changes in their lifestyle and leadership as they strayed from their nomadic ancestry. However, while they experienced some changes, they still clung tightly to their culture until the end of the empire. Genghis Khan was the founder and emperor of the great Mongol Empire, and as a result, it became the largest contiguous land empire in all of history.Genghis Khan sought to unify the Mongols, and conquered nomadic Mongol tribes, unifying them at Karakorum, the capital of the Mongolian Empire. Whether on the battlefield or at home, Genghis was famous for his ruthless brutality. For example, when he defeated Mongol clans, he boiled all of their chiefs alive while killing all males taller than a wheel. As a result, he struck fear into the hearts of men women and children, and al l that he opposed viewed the Mongols as an invincible empire.In 1211 Genghis Khan broke through the Great Wall of China, which the Chinese thought was an ultimate defense; but when Genghis pierced it, they were terrified by his seemingly undefeatable army. He spread his influence across central and Southeast Asia during his reign, but he could not conquer Japan because of divine kamikaze winds and the Mongol fleet was destroyed. This proved that the Mongols were not an invincible force, they could be killed, and this shifted the peoples view on the Great Khan.The Pax Mongolica, or â€Å"The Mongolian Peace† was a time period that lasted for about a century during the Mongol Empire. During this time, intercontinental trade flourished because of the reopened trade routes, including the Silk Road. This time period is also used to describe the stabilization of the Mongol culture. While traveling through the routes and conquering other lands, the Mongols kept to their nomadic ance stry. They lived in Mongol yurts, which were portable dwellings made of pelts and ooden poles, and these were ideal for nomadic travel. The geography of Central Asia consist of deserts and grassy landscapes, where agriculture is hard to support. The nomads focused on the domestication of strong and healthy grazing animals so the Mongols would have enough food, shelter, and clothing. Mongol nomads travelled often, and they had to use the teachings of their ancestors in order to survive. Genghis Khan’s knowledge of his nomadic ancestry is probably one of the biggest reasons why the Mongolian army was so successful.

Heroism in Black Hawk Down essays

Heroism in Black Hawk Down essays Somalia, an East African country of some 6 million, was decimated by famine and civil war in the early 1990s. International aid groups tried to help, but factional fighting and bandits halted the flow of food. Somalis were dying at an estimated rate of 1,000 per day as cargo ships were shelled, trucks were hijacked, and relief workers were murdered. In December 1992, U.S. President George H. Bush announced that the United States would provide the backbone of a multinational military force to secure supply lines and deliver food to the starving. U.S. troops were not greeted warmly when they arrived in Mogadishu, the seaport capital of Somalia. Gen. Mohamed Farah Aidid was especially opposed to their presence. Despite the volatile situation, military intervention appeared to be helping Somalia. The new U.S. presidential administration of Bill Clinton was determined to forge a lasting solution. Clinton's team supported the passage of U.N. resolution 814, expanding the mandate of U.N. involvement in the country. The violence escalated on June 5, 1993 when Somalis killed 25 Pakistani soldiers in the U.N. force. U.N. forces led by U.S. helicopters continued to attack weapon depots. Aidid's militia struck back, shooting U.S., Pakistani, French, and Italian troops and massacring Somali civilians working for the United Nations. Thoughts of nation building disintegrated as more deaths mounted on both sides and the political situation in Somalia grew increasingly radicalized. The United States sent crack military troops to Mogadishu, including Task Force Ranger and US Army special warfare forces Delta. Their mission: bring stability in the region by targeting the men responsible for these atrocities. On October 3, Task Force Ranger and Delta commandos took positions around a three-story building in Mogadishu that they believed held several of Aidid's top lieutenants. Bl...

Decisions essays

Decision's essays What I Learned About My Decision Making Style When I was younger I had the tendency of letting my actions take over my thoughts. What I mean by this is that, I would perform actions before thinking about the outcome. I can recall a time when I made, in my opinion, the worst decision of my life. I stole a Smurf pendent from the corner stole. I wanted the pendent so bad, at that time I was in love with the Smurfs, and I thought that it was something that I really needed. My mother found out that I stole from the store. How she knew to this day puzzles, but she knew. She made me go back to the store and return the pendent and part of my punishment was to help around the store for a whole month that was really embarrassing. The other part of my punishment...well I won't get into detail. However, by maturing I have a better decision-making process. When it comes to critical thinking I always think about the outcome before I make anything final. The reason for this is because I think now as a person, in general, gets older their decisions affect their future in every way. For example having sex is a very important decision that two mature people have to contemplate. They have to really think about the outcomes, such as getting pregnant, catching a sexually transmitted disease etc... The only time when I don't think about the outcome is when I am shopping. I love to shop! Most importantly I love shopping for shoes. I am a shoe freak! If I see a pair of shoes that I like no matter how much they are I will bye them. As a result of this my funds run low and I am left with little or no money to get the things that I really need, like food toiletries and so forth. I know that this is a bad habit therefore to better myself I am working on it, I try not to go to the mall as much as I used to. However with time and patience I will get better about making that particular decision. ...

7 Examples of Incorrect Punctuation with Quotation Marks

7 Examples of Incorrect Punctuation with Quotation Marks 7 Examples of Incorrect Punctuation with Quotation Marks 7 Examples of Incorrect Punctuation with Quotation Marks By Mark Nichol This post points out common errors committed when reporting what has been said or written. Each example is followed by a discussion of the problem and a revision that provides a solution. 1. She pointed out that, â€Å"Speed matters - the faster an organization learns, the faster it evolves.† The quotation, in isolation, is a complete sentence and is properly capitalized. But when dropped into a sentence, as in the example above, it becomes part of the sentence, just as if it were a paraphrase (â€Å"She pointed out that speed matters - the faster an organization learns, the faster it evolves.†) Therefore, a full-sentence quotation integrated into a full sentence like this is demoted and no longer merits capitalization- nor should it be preceded by a comma, because â€Å"she pointed out that† is not an attribution (see the example below pertaining to attribution), because it includes the transitional term that, which is essentially redundant to a comma: â€Å"She pointed out that ‘speed matters - the faster an organization learns, the faster it evolves.’† 2. â€Å"On the outside, he’s a warrior, but on the inside, he’s controlled and focused,† is how one of John Smith’s teammates described him to us. Similarly, when a quotation is integrated into a sentence at the head of a sentence, omit a comma at the end of the quotation unless it is necessary for the sentence’s grammatical structure: â€Å"On the outside, he’s a warrior, but on the inside, he’s controlled and focused† is how one of John Smith’s teammates described him to us. (In the sentence â€Å"She assured us that ‘he is normally very well behaved,’ as if that had anything to do with it,† the comma correctly separates the main clause from the subordinate clause.) 3. Jones screamed â€Å"help me† and â€Å"you’re assaulting me† as the detective forced her into an unmarked car. Quotations that follow an attribution- a phrase that identifies the speaker or writer and explicitly describes the character of the communication with a verb (such as said) and perhaps an adverb (such as â€Å"said sarcastically† or â€Å"said quietly†) or an adverbial phrase (such as â€Å"said as if to a child† or â€Å"said the other day†), are followed by a comma. In addition, when the quotation is a complete sentence, it should be capitalized: â€Å"Jones screamed, ‘Help me!’ as the detective forced her into an unmarked car.† (And, as further edited, an exclamation point should be included when a quotation is described as being delivered with volume or passion, just as a question mark is necessary when asking a question.) If the attribution pertains to more than one quotation, the quotations are treated as a compound phrase (using the generic structure â€Å"[this] and [that]†) and thus an additional comma, after and, is not required: â€Å"Smith screamed, ‘Help me!’ and ‘You’re assaulting me!’ as the detective forced her into an unmarked car.† (Here, unlike in the previous example, punctuation following the quotation is valid because like question marks, exclamation points, which are otherwise interchangeable with commas, provide contextual information that commas do not.) (This post about attribution and quotations is one of many at DailyWritingTips.com that discuss the topics; search the site using the keywords â€Å"attribution† and â€Å"quotations† for more information.) 4. His next comment chilled me, â€Å"We will be watching everything you do.† When what appears to be an attribution is self-contained- structured as a complete thought- the quotation should be set off from the phrase by a colon rather than a comma: â€Å"His next comment chilled me: ‘We will be watching everything you do.’† 5. I heard someone utter the words, â€Å"I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.† When a quotation is preceded by a phrase that provides context but is not a formal attribution, no punctuation should precede it: â€Å"I heard someone utter the words ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.’† (This error implies that those words are the only words; see the next example for more details.) 6. In this issue, we explore the question, â€Å"Are companies curious enough to really understand all aspects of their corporate culture?† The inclusion of a comma here incorrectly implies that a reference has been made in a previous sentence to a specific question, which is explicitly reproduced in this sentence; the resulting implication is that only one question exists, and this is it. But here, â€Å"the question† and the quotation that constitutes the question are appositives- two ways to describe an idea (here, a generic description of a thing- a question- and a specific reproduction of the thing)- and should not be interrupted by punctuation: â€Å"In this issue, we explore the question ‘Are companies curious enough to really understand all aspects of their corporate culture?’ 7. How many times do you want to reheat your leftovers? At some point, you have to say I’m not going to reheat this. You’ve microwaved it six times, and it’s no longer food.† In this passage, â€Å"I’m not going to reheat this† is a conjectural statement the writer is proposing that reader might say at some point. Even though the reader may not actually speak it or write it, the writer should style it as a quotation- and treat you have to say as an attribution: â€Å"How many times do you want to reheat your leftovers? At some point, you have to say, ‘I’m not going to reheat this.’ You’ve microwaved it six times, and it’s no longer food.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:What to Do When Words Appear Twice in a RowHow Many Sentences in a Paragraph?

Carbon Steel 1040 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Carbon Steel 1040 - Essay Example The delivery times taken by the mills ranges between 10 and 50 weeks after the placement of order depending upon the form and size of steel required. Carbon Steels 1040 is primarily stocked by 12 distributors in Bar Products, though it is also, to some extent, available in tubular products, wire products, fasteners, forging products, and flat rolled products. The principle design feature of Carbon Steels 1040 includes its higher carbon content i.e. 0.4 per cent that lends it more strength as compared to the lower alloys of carbon (â€Å"Carbon Steels 1040†). Carbon Steels 1040 are given heat treatment to make them hard. They are quenched and tempered so that a tensile strength from 150 ksi to 250 ksi can be developed in them (â€Å"Carbon Steels 1040†). It has good machinability since it is rated at 60 per cent machinability given by the 1112 alloy that is employed as 100 per cent rated steel for machining (â€Å"Carbon Steels 1040†). Carbon Steels 1040 forming gets quickly accomplished in the annealed condition. It can be welded using any method of welding. However, its higher content of carbon imparts the need to use pre-heat and post-heat practice at 300 to 500 F and 1100 to 1200 F respectively according to a verified procedure of welding. Carbon Steels 1040 show good response to the hardening at 1550 to 1650 F achieved by heat treatment when the heating is followed by water quench as well as tempering (â€Å"Carbon Steels 1040†). This helps attain the desired level of strength in the steel. One problem with Carbon Steels 1040 is that the higher carbon content makes it very brittle and hard. Increased carbon affects the temperature where the forming of martensite commences (see fig.1.). At lower temperature, steel is less plastic and not very capable of accommodating the changes in volume linked with the changing to martensite. Increased brittleness in the steel subjects it to cracking and distortion. However, increased concentration on the materials that

Will China revalue its currencyCauses of devaluation Mechanisms Essay

Will China revalue its currencyCauses of devaluation Mechanisms Implications - Essay Example It follows the laws of the fixed exchange regime where the currency is devalued and revalued at will. For years, China maintained a fixed exchange rate; allowing to appreciate at its will. It has, now and again, manipulated its currency to gain a competitive advantage in the global trade market; and it has allowed China to maintain supreme dominance over the world markets. Nonetheless, the country has been facing immense pressure since a decade to float the currency in the open market and allow the currency to appreciate to a free rate. China did allow appreciation for a while, but at a gradual pace with interruptions. (Murphy 2009) The world continues to ask: will China revalue its currency? The essay will provide justifications for both sides; it will provide the reasons behind the devaluation, the mechanisms used as well as implications on an undervalued Yuan. The essay will end with a strong conclusion followed by recommendations. At present, economists believe that the Chinese c urrency is still undervalued by 15 to 20 percent. They opine that the revaluation will benefit the global economies and help reduce the increasing trade deficits. However, the Chinese politicians believe that the revaluation will hurt their economy and growth; as well as their political control. (Johnson 2013) Causes of Devaluation In the domestic sphere, analysts, in the Chinese circle, believe that revaluation will make their exports expensive compared to today. This consequential drop in Chinese exports will lead to several immediate factory shutdowns; while many others will shift to the low wage economies such as Vietnam and Sri Lanka. (Johnson 2010) This will upset the economy as a whole especially the working class. The resulting unemployed from the layoffs and shutdowns in the remote areas will not easily be absorbed into the economy. This will create anti government sentiments and result in isolated mass incidents around China. (Johnson 2010) â€Å"Any significant appreciat ion of the renminbi will erode China’s export competitiveness overnight and impact the livelihood of tens of millions of workers1,† states an editor at China Daily media agency. Likewise, Chinese politicians strongly believe that the currency reforms, pushed by the US and other global powers, are only means to slowdown its economy and contain growing Chinese power. These politicians refer to similar US policies towards Japan in 1980s. Japan stills reels from the effects of the real estate bubble burst caused by the forced US policies. Therefore, the Chinese are eager not to repeat the same episode. (Lee 2010) (Murphy 2009) Similarly, China thinks alike all the economic powers of the world. It first thinks about the domestic affairs especially employment figures before working towards rebalancing of the macroeconomic indicators around the world. In the aftermath of the financial crisis 2008, the Chinese lost 20 to 40 million jobs related to the export oriented industries . This forced Chinese to put an to the revaluation thoughts for some time. (Lee 2010) A research conducted by the Chinese authorities on the streets showed that a percent appreciation in the value of Yuan will lead to a percent decline in the tiny profit margins of the small export oriented companies. Economists opine that an undervalue Yuan is critical for sustaining the Chinese growth; therefore, all the intimidating by the world leaders will not change the Chinese policy. Revaluation will benefit China in the Long Run Other economists believe that the revaluation of Yuan will benefit China in the long run. It will do more good than harm. Economists know that, at present, the Chinese economy is heavily depending on exports and fixed investment; and not on the local consumption. It must revalue its

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Server, IAAS Essay

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Server, IAAS - Essay Example Cloud computing can be stated as a model for facilitating on-demand, convenient and ubiquitous access to shared pool of computing and configurable resources. This resource sharing platform helps in achieving economies of scale and coherence. The concept of cloud computing is based on a broader aspect of shared services and converged infrastructure. Cloud resources are also dynamically reallocated along with being accessed by multiple users. The entire approach of cloud computing has shifted focus towards OPEX model from basic infrastructure of CAPEX model. This study would reflect upon one of the cloud computing services, known as IAAS. Infrastructure as a service or IAAS is a basic cloud service platform. This mainly refers to online services which abstract user from data partitioning. There are some additional resources offered by IAAS clouds such as raw block storage, firewalls, disk-image library, load balancers, virtual local area networks, software bundles and object storage. W indows Server is a known technology or application based on the concept of IAAS. It is a brand name given to bundle of server operating systems, which are launched by Microsoft. The first server edition was named as Windows NT 3.1; however, there have been advancements in developing Windows Server. This study shall analyse key vulnerabilities witnessed by Windows Server and mitigation strategies implemented over the years. There are some general approaches too that can safeguard the system from external threats.

Bicycles in Miami Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bicycles in Miami - Essay Example ate in the manufacture and sale of high quality bicycles in the city and the growth of the industry portrays the both the potential and the future of the place of bicycles in Miami, Florida. Miami is among the leading tourist destinations in the United States famed for its wide beaches. As such, the city experiences an influx of visitors especially during summer a feature that piles pressure on the city’s transport system. In order to overcome such challenges, the state government encouraged the use of bicycles thereby giving rise to the number of bicycles in the city. The history of the city therefore includes the high number of bicycles (Mathur, 2014). Progressively, bicycles remained a fundamental feature of transport in the city as the industry expanded owing to the concerted government effort to promote clean and safe environment. As a preferred tourist destination, the use of bicycles in Miami offered a cheaper means of transport especially for the locals who had to compete for public transport with the rising number of tourists visiting the city annually. This explains the historical position of bicycles in the city, the position has not changed since to d ate both locals and tourists alike prefer the use of bicycles as the preferred means of transport in Miami. The use of bicycles remains commonplace in Miami as the government continues to expand projects that foster the growth of the industry through systematic policies. The wealthy and the rich in Miami continue to show preference for bicycle as a means of transport owing to the government’s endeavors to improve the appreciation of the means of transport. The trend spread throughout the city owing to the health benefits associated with cycling to work. Besides sustaining the cleanliness of the environment, cycling to work promises a lean healthy body since it provides the body with intense physical activity thereby burning used calories in the body (Frantz, 2009). Different arms of the government

Ankle strain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ankle strain - Essay Example Instability to the joint occurs whenever there is a fracture of any of the bones of the joint or when there is sprain. Sprain means damage to the ligament. It can be just stretching of the ligament or tearing or rupture of the ligament. Ankle sprains are the most common injuries to the ankle. In fact, they account for 85% of the injuries to the ankle (1). Most of the times the sprains are inversion sprains where the lateral ligaments are damaged.  Ã‚  This is because of the bony and soft tissue anatomy of the ankle and the fact that the lateral malleolus extends further inferiorly than the medial malleolus (2). Other types include syndesmotic sprains and eversion sprains. It is important to diagnose and treat ankle sprains appropriately to prevent symptoms of chronic instability like loss of motion, strength and proprioception (1). Sprains of the ankle account for 38-45% of all injuries in sports (1). It is more common in those who are less active and in the elderly (1). No sex predominance has been noted (1). In about 40% of those who have suffered ankle sprains, chronic instability is a sequel (1). 19 year old James was brought to the emergency department on a Saturday morning at 4 am following injury to the right ankle as he tumbled over the steps while he was returning from a party. He looked intoxicated. On admission to the casualty, he was found to be in intense pain. Examination of the right ankle revealed moderate swelling at the joint with no external bruises and decreased movements at the joint. Pain was mainly localized to the lateral side. He could bear weight on that joint but with pain. Palpation ruled out the possibility of any fractures. There was no evidence of neurovascular compromise either. Past medical history was unremarkable. A diagnosis of grade-II ankle lateral ligament sprain was made in this patient. Ice with the help of ice bag was applied locally. The affected

Bicycles in Miami Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bicycles in Miami - Essay Example ate in the manufacture and sale of high quality bicycles in the city and the growth of the industry portrays the both the potential and the future of the place of bicycles in Miami, Florida. Miami is among the leading tourist destinations in the United States famed for its wide beaches. As such, the city experiences an influx of visitors especially during summer a feature that piles pressure on the city’s transport system. In order to overcome such challenges, the state government encouraged the use of bicycles thereby giving rise to the number of bicycles in the city. The history of the city therefore includes the high number of bicycles (Mathur, 2014). Progressively, bicycles remained a fundamental feature of transport in the city as the industry expanded owing to the concerted government effort to promote clean and safe environment. As a preferred tourist destination, the use of bicycles in Miami offered a cheaper means of transport especially for the locals who had to compete for public transport with the rising number of tourists visiting the city annually. This explains the historical position of bicycles in the city, the position has not changed since to d ate both locals and tourists alike prefer the use of bicycles as the preferred means of transport in Miami. The use of bicycles remains commonplace in Miami as the government continues to expand projects that foster the growth of the industry through systematic policies. The wealthy and the rich in Miami continue to show preference for bicycle as a means of transport owing to the government’s endeavors to improve the appreciation of the means of transport. The trend spread throughout the city owing to the health benefits associated with cycling to work. Besides sustaining the cleanliness of the environment, cycling to work promises a lean healthy body since it provides the body with intense physical activity thereby burning used calories in the body (Frantz, 2009). Different arms of the government

Chemical Engineering at the University of Wyoming Essay

Chemical Engineering at the University of Wyoming - Essay Example Other key requirements for licensure are: (2) Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam (which you will take your senior year at UW); (3) Practice engineering after graduation for four years under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer; and (4) Pass the Principles and Practice exam. To maintain ABET accreditation of our B.S. in chemical engineering, we must assess how students perform against 11 outcomes (called the Criterion 3 (a)-(k) outcomes). The outcomes can be found in the General Catalog and also at http://www.uwyo.edu/chemical/undergraduate/department_programs/chemical/program%20objectives.html Bart, a registered professional engineer (PE), works for the oil and gas exploration division of a major oil and gas producer (Company A). Bart’s sister, Lisa, also a registered PE, works for an oil and gas research and development (R&D) company called Well-Aware, LLC whose major client is a company (Company B) that competes directly with Company A. During a family get-together, Lisa excitedly tells her brother Bart all about the new design for a deepwater well sealing system she has been working on with her research group at Well-Aware, LLC. The design could save a lot of money in construction without sacrificing safety. Having studied well design for many years Lisa is exceptional in her ability to understand the intricacies of each design component of a well and how they are interrelated. However, since she is not as familiar with problems that can occur in the field, she asks Bart a few questions relating to the feasibility of the new system. The two saw no harm in this si nce Company A and Company B were in talks to potentially share each other's new well design technologies. Bart, having had extensive field experience, mentioned a few instances where field implementing the design could be improved. According to the scenario, there are a number of unethical and illegal actions that may occur. These actions may occur because Bart and Lisa shared confidential information regarding their respective companies. The following illegal and unethical actions may occur.

Use of Ace Inhibitors for Treatment of Hypertension Essay Example for Free

Use of Ace Inhibitors for Treatment of Hypertension Essay The prevalence of hypertension globally has sparked much research on medications and ways to cure it. Although there are varieties of medications available in the market to control hypertension, there are still none that can actually cure it. Until the time a drug to cure hypertension emerges, hypertension will be controlled by the use of antihypertensive drugs. Among the few well known classes of antihypertensive drugs is a group of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or ACE inhibitors. ACE inhibitors are a fairly recent addition to the antihypertensive drug class and have been widely used since then due to its many potential benefits. ACE inhibitors are indicated for many conditions which include hypertension, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disorders, and prevention of nephropathy in diabetes mellitus. When used in hypertension, it is done so in combination with diuretics with fairly good results. (Merck, 2003)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The use of ACE inhibitors is especially useful for congestive heart failure patients. Therefore, it is indicated in cases where hypertension exists in correlation with congestive heart failure. There has been a significant decrease in the overall morbidity and mortality rates of patients suffering from both the conditions when using ACE inhibitors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mode of action of these drugs is many fold, and for that reason very effective in the treatment of hypertension. For instance, it acts on the vascular system to reduce vascular pressure, which allows for less arterial pressure, combined with more venous capacity, thus immediately reducing the blood pressure. Alongside, it increases cardiac output and cardiac index and stroke volume. The main function of the ACE inhibitors, however, is the inhibition of the ACE enzyme, which is responsible for increased vascular pressure, ventricular remodeling, production of aldosterone and vasopressin respectively. (Katzung, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Such drugs however, require careful dosage regimes based on extensive studying of the case, as there are many side effects associated with these drugs. The most common of these include hypotension, due to the vasodilator effect of the drugs.(Merck, 2003)   The second most common problem is the development of persistent cough in such patients, which leads to reduction in patient compliance. The bid and tid dosage regimes also reduce the patients’ compliance. Due to its renal effects, ACE inhibitors must be used carefully in cases where damage to the kidney is expected or the kidneys are functionally impaired. For example, in patients with renal artery stenosis, the use of these drugs can lead to renal impairment. The prevention of release of aldosterone caused by these drugs impairs excretion of potassium in the body, which can lead to hyperkalemia. Increased levels can also lead to the development of angioedema, which can be life threatening. ACE inhibitors are also contraindicated in patients who are pregnant as it is teratogenic in nature. (Kaplan and Rose, 2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due to the mode of activity of these drugs, the ACE inhibitors become contraindicated in cases of history of angioedemas or renal artery stenosis, compromised renal functioning capacities, aortic valve stenosis and in patients suffering from hypovolumia. (Klabunde, 2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many drugs now belong to this category, however, the paper will discuss three of these, captopril, enalapril and lisinopril.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Captopril main mode of action lies in the suppression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. By inhibiting the ACE inhibitor, angiotensin I is prevented from converting into angiotensin II.   Captopril enjoys universal attention due to the fact that it is the first ACE inhibitor introduced. Its mode of action and its effect were considered a breakthrough at the time of its conception. Its action is two fold. Firstly, it helps in dilating the vessels, thereby helping reduce blood pressure. Secondly, it has shown very good performance in the cases of myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. And thirdly, it has shown good results in the prevention of diabetic nephropathy. (www.rxlist.com)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is very little difference in the working of all the ACE drugs, however, captopril differs in this respect due to its shorter duration of action and increased chances of adverse effects.   This intensity of side effects potentiated further research, the result of which was the introduction of enalapril in the market, and still further drugs subsequently. Regardless of the drug, the ACE inhibitors generally take several weeks of administration to give full effectiveness and results. When used with thiazide diuretics, the results achieved are even more.(Merck, 2003)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Captopril is administered one hour before meals to achieve maximum peak volume concentration, which is reached within an hour of ingestion of drug. Initial dosage may be as low as 25 mg bid or tid, and gradually can be increased to double dose bid or tid. The addition of thiazide diuretics is usually carried out when using captopril alone at 50 mg alone does not sufficiently control blood pressure.(Katzung, 2004) This range can be increased to 150 mg per day, provided the use of a thiazide diuretic is also carried out. The administration of drug results in the lowering of blood pressure within one hour. Renal blood flow is increased; however, the GFR remains unchanged. When used with digitalis, captopril shows good efficacy in the treatment of congestive heart failure. Its use has been very favorable in patients who had previously suffered from myocardial infarction, or those with left ventricular dysfunction. In case of LVD and CHF or MI, the usual starting dose is 50 mg target dose. (Kaplan and Rose, 2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚     Captopril has shown to increase the risk of developing neutropenia and agranulocytosis and therefore, full blood picture is mandatory for patients using captopril for a prolonged period. Also, since mode of elimination from the body is through the kidneys, the use of captopril becomes contraindicated or at least under observation in cases of renal impairment or dysfunction. (Katzung, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Enalapril is the second drug introduced in the ACE inhibitor series. The main reason for its production was to eliminate the problems seen with the use of captopril. As in captopril, the drug utilizes the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Production of enalapril involved changing the molecular constitution of captopril, and therefore, the final result was the first dicarboxylate- containing ACE inhibitor, or enalaprilat. However, this modification limited the use of this drug as intravenous injection only. Further modifications in this structure led to the oral form by the name enalapril. (www.rxlist.com)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Enalapril works by converting itself through hydrolysis into enalaprilat in the body. Enalaprilat then inhibits the ACE enzyme. The peak serum levels are reached within an hour of administration of the drug. As opposed to captopril, enalapril absorption is independent of gastric contents; rather it is dependant on the urinary recovery. In hypertensive patients, the dosage of enalapril results in both supine and standing but not orthostatic hypotension. This effect is not seen in case of captopril. The antihypertensive activity becomes visible within one hour of administration of the drug. This effect then remains for around 24 hours. Similar to captopril, enalapril shows improved hypertensive control when administered with a thiazide diuretic. it is also indicated for cases suffering from heart failure, and asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction. (Kaplan and Rose, 2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unlike captopril, which can be administered simultaneously with a preceding diuretic, enalapril can only be started after cessation of the diuretic after two to three days. This is essential to minimize the risk of developing hypotension. If this is not possible a test dose of 2.5 mg is given for at least two hours under observation, and the drug administered accordingly. The usual dosage regime may vary from 10 to 40 mg per day, and that is if the patient is not on a diuretic. Dose adjustment becomes necessary for patients who have impaired renal function, which may require reduction of the dose to almost half of the average 5 mg. this dosage is amenable to changes based on the blood pressure response seen. (www.rxlist.com)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Enalapril is highly favored over captopril as it has lesser side effects than its predecessor. It has a well toleration response, and the adverse effects are very mild in nature. Patients may complain of fatigue, asthenia, diarrhea and nausea, headache and dizziness, cough and skin rash. These symptoms can be present with varying degrees according to the reason why the drug is being administered. For example in heart cases, it can also lead to syncope symptoms and some differences in the special sensory perceptions. Angioedema is perhaps the most serious side effect of enalapril, with severity seen more in blacks than in non-black populations. This can be very fatal should laryngeal angioedema ensue. Initial doses can lead to fall of blood pressure and hypotension, which must be monitored very closely. Hyperkalemia, increase in blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinin levels, and decrease in hematocrit and hemoglobin can also be seen. Liver enzymes can also become elevated. (Merck manual, 2003)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The effects of enalapril were much improved and effective with lesser side effects when compared to captopril, however, the speed of effect was still high in the case of captopril. The third drug to get introduced in the series of ACE inhibitors became lisinopril. The drug was important as it was the first hydrophilic ACE inhibitor introduces, with longer half life and penetration in the tissue. The drug remains the same even after excretion from the body, and is indicated for all the conditions mentioned above for which ACE inhibitors are introduced. While captopril and enalapril were made for bid and tid dosages, lisinopril, due to its longer half life, is generally administered once a day, helping aid patient compliance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mode of action is similar to its sister drugs, that is the drug acts by inhibiting the ACE enzyme. The peak serum concentration of this drug however, is reached after 7 hours, compared to one hour of both captopril and enalapril. When used for hypertension, it results in the reduction of both standing and supine hypertension, with â€Å"no compensatory tachycardia†(Rx list, 2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The dosage of lisinopril is given according to the drug history of the patient. Patients with no use of diuretics are given 10 mg per day as initial dose. This can be increased from 20 to 40 mg as the case may need. In diuretic using patients, the protocol for the administration of lisinopril is the same as for enalapril. The diuretic is stopped two to three days prior to the administration of lisinopril, and observed for signs of hypotension. Dosage is then adjusted according to the body response of the patient. This drug should not be given along with any potassium supplements as it can lead to hyperkalemia. Renal status similarly, addresses the dosage of the drug, with 10 mg as standard for normal kidney function, 5 mg for moderate to severe renal impairment, and 2.5 mg or so for dialysis patients after proper observation and blood pressure response. (Klabubde, 2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Side effects of lisinopril are not so different from the side effects seen in the case of enalapril and captopril. However, cough becomes the primary side effect of this drug along with fatigue and asthenia etc. In all cases of ACE inhibitors, the side effects must be monitored closely and managed accordingly should the need arise. (ACE Inhibitors, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, the introduction of ACE inhibitors has been a welcome addition in the antihypertensive drug family and is now used widely due to its excellent prognosis in patients with concurrent heart conditions. Its use with thiazide diuretics has been widely documented and further studies will help in the introduction of much improved brands of ACE inhibitors. References ACE inhibitor drugs. Site last accessed on August 5, 2007 from www.rxlist.com ACE inhibitors, 2004. Site last accessed on August 5, 2007 from http://www.chfpatients.com/ace_old.htm Norman A Kaplan and Burton D Rose, 2007. ACE inhibitors in the Treatment of Hypertension. Site last accessed on August 5, 2007 from http://patients.uptodate.com/topic.asp?file=hyperten/10107#1 Richard E. Klabunde, 2007. Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors. Site last accessed on August 5, 2007 from http://cvpharmacology.com/vasodilator/ACE.htm Bertram G. Katzung, 2004. Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, ninth edition. The Merck Manual of Medical Information. Second Home Edition. Section III, Heart and Blood Vessel Disorders.

Asian Carp Problem Literature Review

Asian Carp Problem Literature Review Annotated Bibliography Michigan Radio Newsroom. Obama administration releases strategies for keeping Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes. Http://michiganradio.org. N.p., 26 July 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. On June 3, 2016 the Michigan Public Radio, which is part of the NPR news station, did a story on the Asian Carp spreading into the Great Lakes. The article takes place in a meeting in Mackinac with the governors of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and the   Canadian province of Ontario. In this meeting they discussed some solutions about the Asian Carp getting through the shipping canal in Chicago. The Illinois governor believes that is reasonable the separate the great lakes from the Mississippi river system. the Indiana governor believes that if separated it will create a two billon dolor project that not every state can afford. it will cause additional harm if we separate and he believes that it is possible to control the growth of the population of the Asian Carp without closing the canal. The NPR organization does not list one author, its stories is written by many different writer. They are partners with PBS who is also a credible source. On the NPR website, it includes other links that take you to other credible sights. In general the website looks very professional and there are no issues with grammar, spelling, or punctuation. This specific story was done in 2016 which proves that is a current source. I would use this source in the middle of my essay because it explains both sides clearly. It supports both sides and helps explain why this topic is controversial. It also gives the insight of what high positions think about this topic and what they think the solution is. The news story shows that not every state or governor agrees on what to do about this problem and clearly explains the negative effect of each solution. Ontarios invading species awarness program. Asian Carps. Http://www.invadingspecies.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. This website contain information on what the Canadians think what we should do about the Asian Carp problem. At the beginning of the article it gives you background information about the Asian carp. It then goes on and explains the negative impact the fish could have if it invades the Great Lakes. It also explain how to identify the fish if you were to encounter one. the website then explain what they think could be done to prevent the Asian Carp from spreading. This is done by certain fishing competitions and prevention of people making the Asian Carp situation worse. This website was done by the Ontarios invading species awareness program and is meant to inform people. Since 1992 they have contribute to the help of preventing the invasion species through different parts of Canada. They have engaged in hundreds of community groups and volunteer the monitor hundreds of water bodies. They have training of two hundred different technical professions and higher summer staff for the invading species hit squad to provide basic invasion species education. I would use this source at the beginning of my essay because the website conations a good explanation on what the invading Asian Carp is and what they look like. This website does a good job in providing basic threats to the great lakes such as how he Asian Carp can wipe of a whole ecosystem. It also explains how these fish are spreading through shipping vessels and containers and manmade canals. National Wildlife Federation. Asian Carp Threat to the Great Lakes. Https://www.nwf.org. N.p., 1996. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. In this website it contains an interview as well as information bout the threat the Asian Carp impose on the great lakes. The interview is from Dwayne Chapman, a fish biologist from Columbia Missouri who gives the scientific insight on the asian carp problem. He said that in the past there has been three fish caught but none in the last thirteen years. However this does not mean that there are no asian carps found in the great lakes. Scientists have found asian carp dna beyond the electric fence and in southern parts of lake erie. THis led to scientist questioning how the dna is being spread. is it being spread by the connection of he waterways or by other factors such as birds. this source is credible because it is the national wild life federation and has 11 offices across the united states. THey have national reconition and dedicate themselves to protect the wildlife. thisr director Collin OMara used to led the delaware department of natural reasources and the environmental control ans cabinet secretary from 2009 to 2014. He was also the youngest state cabinent member in the nation. The national wildlife federation is also a non profet organization. I would us this in my essay to support to close the connection of the great lakes to the chacago river. This is because is shows a map of ho spread out the asain carp isnot and how easy it could get into the great lakes. I would also use som of this informationat the beging of my essay bacause it explains the scientific view of the asain carp. this source strengthins my essay because it gives a good visual of where the asin carp are. It also provides scientific information by a porfessional to the public and the studies that they are conduction.

Philip Slater’s The Pursuit of Loneliness :: Philip Slater Pursuit Loneliness Essays

Philip Slater’s The Pursuit of Loneliness The purpose of Philip Slater’s book The Pursuit of Loneliness is to â€Å"reach some understanding of the forces which are unraveling our society† for his readers (xxii). It is a common conception that America is the best country, an idea which is substantiated by economic figures. However, Americans are not happy. According to Slater, â€Å"all societies frustrate certain human needs and satiate others (because) humanity and any particular society’s idea of what humanity should be is never very exact† (2). In America, the gap between reality and perception is growing farther and farther apart, at human expense. Americans work their entire lives for the future, in the pursuit of economic security, which ultimately leads to continued unhappiness in the present. American culture â€Å"struggles more and more violently to maintain itself, (but) is less and less able to hide its fundamental antipathy towards human life and human satisfaction† (122). Sla ter’s book teaches people about the existence of the â€Å"wide gap between the fantasies Americans live by and the realities they live in,† in the hopes that this will inspire people to react in positive ways (xxiii). Cooperation played a major role in the development of homo sapiens as the dominant species on earth. Americans do not understand its importance. It is understandable to place an extremely high level of importance upon self reliance in a dog eat dog society, but individualism has become fear and loathing of others. This motivates people to develop ways they can spend less time with each other. The ultimate expression of individualism, driving a car, illustrates the problem of denying â€Å"the reality of human interdependence† (30). â€Å"Some people can’t afford to heat their homes because we all want to ride expensive vehicles on crowded roads at high speeds, killing one another and polluting the atmosphere† (2). This situation cannot be repaired until we accept the inherent power in cooperation. â€Å"The more we try to solve our problems by increasing personal autonomy, the more we find ourselves at the mercy of these mysterious, impersonal, and remote mechan isms that we have ourselves created† (48). A large part of this problem is that many Americans buy into the ploys of capitalism, sacrificing happiness for material gain. â€Å"Americans have voluntarily created, and voluntarily maintained, a society which increasingly frustrates and aggravates† them (8). Society’s uncontrolled development results in an artificial sense of scarcity which ensures â€Å"a steady flow of output† (78). Philip Slater’s The Pursuit of Loneliness :: Philip Slater Pursuit Loneliness Essays Philip Slater’s The Pursuit of Loneliness The purpose of Philip Slater’s book The Pursuit of Loneliness is to â€Å"reach some understanding of the forces which are unraveling our society† for his readers (xxii). It is a common conception that America is the best country, an idea which is substantiated by economic figures. However, Americans are not happy. According to Slater, â€Å"all societies frustrate certain human needs and satiate others (because) humanity and any particular society’s idea of what humanity should be is never very exact† (2). In America, the gap between reality and perception is growing farther and farther apart, at human expense. Americans work their entire lives for the future, in the pursuit of economic security, which ultimately leads to continued unhappiness in the present. American culture â€Å"struggles more and more violently to maintain itself, (but) is less and less able to hide its fundamental antipathy towards human life and human satisfaction† (122). Sla ter’s book teaches people about the existence of the â€Å"wide gap between the fantasies Americans live by and the realities they live in,† in the hopes that this will inspire people to react in positive ways (xxiii). Cooperation played a major role in the development of homo sapiens as the dominant species on earth. Americans do not understand its importance. It is understandable to place an extremely high level of importance upon self reliance in a dog eat dog society, but individualism has become fear and loathing of others. This motivates people to develop ways they can spend less time with each other. The ultimate expression of individualism, driving a car, illustrates the problem of denying â€Å"the reality of human interdependence† (30). â€Å"Some people can’t afford to heat their homes because we all want to ride expensive vehicles on crowded roads at high speeds, killing one another and polluting the atmosphere† (2). This situation cannot be repaired until we accept the inherent power in cooperation. â€Å"The more we try to solve our problems by increasing personal autonomy, the more we find ourselves at the mercy of these mysterious, impersonal, and remote mechan isms that we have ourselves created† (48). A large part of this problem is that many Americans buy into the ploys of capitalism, sacrificing happiness for material gain. â€Å"Americans have voluntarily created, and voluntarily maintained, a society which increasingly frustrates and aggravates† them (8). Society’s uncontrolled development results in an artificial sense of scarcity which ensures â€Å"a steady flow of output† (78).

Its Time to Regulate and Reform Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

It's Time to Regulate and Reform Euthanasia One of the landmark cases that involve euthanasia is that of Karen Ann Quinlan. Quinlan, a twenty-one year old New Jersey resident, overdosed on pills and alcohol in 1975. She was rushed to the hospital where her physical condition gradually deteriorated to a vegetative state. The doctors determined she had no chance of recovery. Before the coma Karen said that if anything ever happened that would leave her physically and mentally incompetent, without any chance of recovery, she would not want to be kept alive by "extraordinary medical procedures," notes Derek Humphry. Karen's parents sought religious counsel from their priest. They were told that the Catholic religion allows the removal of extraordinary care if the patient was in a terminal condition. Karen's parents requested she be removed from the respirator. The hospital denied their request. The Quinlans then directed their request to the court. The superior court denied their request. They took their request to the New Jersey Supreme court where the decision was reversed. Karen was removed from the respirator. To everyone's surprise, Karen began breathing on her own and lived another ten years (Humphry 107). The Quinlan case brought to the forefront patients' desire to die a proud, quiet death. It also brought to the forefront the complications caused by the advancement of medical technology ("Euthanasia"27). Euthanasia has been practiced in Eastern and Western culture since the beginning of civilization. The capability of medical technology to extend life (as demonstrated by the Quinlan case) has made the issue of euthanasia more complicated. Individuals should be allowed to "die with dignity" in the event of terminal illness if he or she wants it. Terminating a patient's life is much more merciful than allowing him or her to die a slow painful death from illness. Those who oppose legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide say that this could lead to involuntary killing of the aged and infirm. I agree that there may be danger of abuse and that the vulnerable need to be protected; therefore, I support passing legislation that monitors and regulates physician assisted suicide. The demand for legislation in support of legalized euthanasia for the terminally ill has been an issue since the beginning of the century.

Pet peeves

Pet peeves, everyone has them. Some people make their peeves known; others Just grit their teeth and keep their annoyance to themselves. My pet peeves Include my husband talking loudly In public on the phone, people using their phones In public, and the way people care for their kids. These are just a few of my pet peeves that I want to talk about. My husband is one of the worst about talking to loud on his phone in public. One day in particular comes to mind. We were going to walk into a restaurant, and his phone rang.He answered it and began to talk. I started to walk slower, hoping he would do the same. He did not even realize that he was almost yelling. As we were walking into the restaurant he continued to talk and people turn their heads to see who was talking so loudly. I was trying to get him to hurry up, but that was not happening. I could Just see other people around us looking at him wishing he would hang up his phone. He finally finished his call and hung up his phone. Th is does not happen often, but whenIt does I try to remind him that he has many pet peeves and his loud talking Is one of mine. It Is possibly my biggest pet peeve. Furthermore, phone etiquette in general is one of my pet peeves. Don't get me wrong, cell phones are great; I just really wish that someone would write a book on the proper way to use a cell phone. If there ever was such a book the author would be a millionaire instantly. Cell phones exploded on to the scene so fast and furious that many people did not have time to think. It is understandable for people not to understand proper phone etiquette.The ability to talk wirelessly to anyone, and everyone from almost anywhere in the world has been around now for many years. People should know that there is a proper time and place to use a cell phone. I can understand If a call comes Into a person's phone that Is an emergency. However It Is not an emergency If a friend has Just broke up with their boyfriend or girlfriend. If one I s In a walling room of a doctor's office, or a public place people do not need to hear about y personal life problems.Be courteous to the ones around and, get up and walk outside to finish the call. I can promise that no one else wants to hear a one-sided conversation. Parents drive me crazy when they allow their children to scream and cry in a public place. I can understand some children have special needs and there is Just no way for a parent to soothe the child. The parent should still get up and take the screaming child outside or to the bathroom. My husband and I were at a restaurant the other day and there was a child crying and screaming at the top f his lungs.The mother just sat there and did nothing to try and soothe the child. We quickly finished our meal and left the restaurant. Parents should try and consider that not everyone cares to hear their child screaming and crying In public places. In conclusion I normally do not say a whole lot about the different things that g et on my nerves. I am typically the kind of person that Just goes with the flow. The loud talking on the cell phone, the lack of phone etiquette, and children crying and Pet peeves Pet peeves, everyone has them. Some people make their peeves known; others Just grit their teeth and keep their annoyance to themselves. My pet peeves Include my husband talking loudly In public on the phone, people using their phones In public, and the way people care for their kids. These are just a few of my pet peeves that I want to talk about. My husband is one of the worst about talking to loud on his phone in public. One day in particular comes to mind. We were going to walk into a restaurant, and his phone rang.He answered it and began to talk. I started to walk slower, hoping he would do the same. He did not even realize that he was almost yelling. As we were walking into the restaurant he continued to talk and people turn their heads to see who was talking so loudly. I was trying to get him to hurry up, but that was not happening. I could Just see other people around us looking at him wishing he would hang up his phone. He finally finished his call and hung up his phone. Th is does not happen often, but whenIt does I try to remind him that he has many pet peeves and his loud talking Is one of mine. It Is possibly my biggest pet peeve. Furthermore, phone etiquette in general is one of my pet peeves. Don't get me wrong, cell phones are great; I just really wish that someone would write a book on the proper way to use a cell phone. If there ever was such a book the author would be a millionaire instantly. Cell phones exploded on to the scene so fast and furious that many people did not have time to think. It is understandable for people not to understand proper phone etiquette.The ability to talk wirelessly to anyone, and everyone from almost anywhere in the world has been around now for many years. People should know that there is a proper time and place to use a cell phone. I can understand If a call comes Into a person's phone that Is an emergency. However It Is not an emergency If a friend has Just broke up with their boyfriend or girlfriend. If one I s In a walling room of a doctor's office, or a public place people do not need to hear about y personal life problems.Be courteous to the ones around and, get up and walk outside to finish the call. I can promise that no one else wants to hear a one-sided conversation. Parents drive me crazy when they allow their children to scream and cry in a public place. I can understand some children have special needs and there is Just no way for a parent to soothe the child. The parent should still get up and take the screaming child outside or to the bathroom. My husband and I were at a restaurant the other day and there was a child crying and screaming at the top f his lungs.The mother just sat there and did nothing to try and soothe the child. We quickly finished our meal and left the restaurant. Parents should try and consider that not everyone cares to hear their child screaming and crying In public places. In conclusion I normally do not say a whole lot about the different things that g et on my nerves. I am typically the kind of person that Just goes with the flow. The loud talking on the cell phone, the lack of phone etiquette, and children crying and

Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff Essay

â€Å"Bullet in the Brain† is a short story written by Tobias Wolff. The story is about a book critic named Anders, while waiting in a long line at the bank he is the victim of an armed robbery and gets shot and killed. The story is divided in to two parts, and this division allows the reader to see a contrast between two parts of main character’s personality. I want to argue in this essay that the combination of Anders love of words and negative past experiences are what led to his death, and demonstrate the contrast of Anders wisdom when he was younger ,and innocence when he was older, as a consequence of that combination. In the first part of the story when Anders is waiting in line, he’s witness to an armed robbery and he is sarcastic and cynical until he got shot in the head. In the second part the bullet inside Anders brain slows down time to let the reader witness the negative past experience that made him such a cynical sarcastic and childish person that he was when he got shot. I will start from the second part of the plot when he got shot. In this part of the story we see more sides to Anders character. We have a short summary of Anders past experience in life that made him so cynical and sarcastic like he is to the point he got shot. The highlight of the second part is that the writer made a list of memories that Anders would not remember, the readers, have a better perspective to Anders personality: â€Å"He did not remember his first lover, Sherry, or what he had most madly loved about her, before it came to irritate him-her unembarrassed carnality, and especially the cordial way she had with his unit, which she called Mr. Mole As in ‘Uh-oh, looks like Mr. Mole wants to play†. This is an example of Anders personality when he loves a woman and adores her choice of words of how she called he’s genital and gets him irritated after a while. Anders did not remembered his wife whom he had also loved before she exhausted him with her predictability†. Another example of someone he loved that he got tired of. â€Å" Anders did not remembered his dying mother saying of his father ‘I should have stabbed him in his sleep†. Another example of a negative experiences that accrued Anders that left a mark and vanished his innocent and made him bitter. The highlight of this part of the plot is a memory of a much earlier moment in his life that shows a contrast to the cynical, sarcastic character whose comments cost his life. As a boy, Anders accepted and admired the musical qualities of someone’s faulty grammar and had the wisdom not to ask the Coyle’s cousin to repeat his words that the other kids wont think him as a jerk, but as an adult Anders seems only to find these flaws as a kind of noise and had no wisdom to keep he’s mouth shut as expected from him. Here, we see a memory evoked at the moment of impact. â€Å"Some one asks the cousin what position he wasn’t to play. ‘Shortstop’. The boy says, â€Å"shortstop the best position they is†. Anders turns and look at him. He wants to hear Coyle’s cousin repeat what he’s just said, thought he knows better than to ask. the others will think that he is a jerk, ragging the kid for his grammar. But that isn’t it, Anders is strangely roused, elated by those final two words. Their pure unexpectedness, and their music. He takes the field in a trance, repeating them to himself. † Here we see what Anders is actually enthusiastic about, and likes the words for their music, even though they are grammatically wrong, as he repeats them to himself it puts him into a trance in the field. Here he celebrates the simple unexpected usage of words that sounds beautiful to his ear. In the first part the reader gets to know Anders the book critic, His known for the â€Å"weary, elegant, savagery with which he dispatched almost everything he reviewed. † he’s character is very cynical, sarcastic and arrogant. Through out the story Anders was sarcastic, cynical and criticizing everything, that was the cause of his death. In the beginning when he is waiting in line, in the bank, one of the tellers closes her position, Anders was listing to the woman in front of him complaining: â€Å"Oh that’s nice. One of them said, she turned to Anders and added, confident of his accord, â€Å"one of those little human touches that keep us coming back for more†. Anders had convinced his own towering hatred of the teller, but he immediately turned it on the presumptuous crybaby in front of him. †Damned unfair† he said â€Å"tragic really if they are not chopping off the wrong leg or bombing your ancestral village they closing their position. She stood her ground. â€Å"I didn’t say it was tragic,† she said â€Å"I just think it’s a pretty lousy way to treat your customers†. â€Å"Unforgivable† Anders said. â€Å"Heaven will take note†. Even though that Anders was upset from the position closing, he took his anger out on the lady in front of him by being sarcastic, cynical and arrogant. It’s ironic that Anders said â€Å"Heaven take note† and in the end he is the one that got shot. We witness how the love of words get Anders to react in a careless way: â€Å" Keep your big mouth shut! † the man with the pistol said, thought no one had spoken a word. â€Å"One of you tellers hit the alarm, you’re all dead meat†. â€Å"Oh, bravo† Anders said, â€Å"’Dead meat’†. He turned to the woman in front of him. † Great script, eh? The stern, brass-knuckled poetry of the dangerous classes. Anders critic of the robber’s choice of words makes him act in away if like he is the audience of a bad play and shares he’s critic with the ladies a front of him. Anders mocks the robbers and feels superior to them by saying: †The stern, brass-knuckled poetry of the dangerous classes. †. This is evidence that proof how passion Anders is for words and is not aware of any danger that might happen. When the robbers addresses Anders:†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ hey! Bright boy! Did I tell you to talk? ’ â€Å"No†, Anders said. â€Å"Then shut your trap†. â€Å"Did you hear that? † Anders said. â€Å"’ Bright boy’. Right out of the killers†. Anders is mocking the robbers choice of words, instead of be quiet like an adult should behave in this kind of situation, but he is behaving childishly and risk himself and the people that are next to him. Anders got the robbers attention and they made him look up the ceiling, he couldn’t help it, even when the robbers are pointing a gun to him and warned him a few time Anders started to laugh at the robbers face and got shot. : â€Å" ‘What’s so funny, bright boy? ’ ‘Nothing’. ‘You think I’m comical? You think m some kind of a clown? ’ ‘No’. ‘Fuck with me again, your history, capiche? ’ Anders burst out laughing. Covered his mouth with both of his hands and said, â€Å" I’m sorry, I’m sorry† than snorted helplessly through his fingers and said: â€Å"Capiche-oh, God , capiche. † And at that the man with the pistol raised the pistol and shot Anders right in the head†. This moment in the plot emphasize my argument, Anders love of words with his negative past experience is what led him to his death in the bank and he couldn’t help him self to get out of it. If this situation happen when Anders was a child he probably wouldn’t say a word to the robbers, but as an adult he couldn’t act wise and shut up.

Make a research on a geography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Make a research on a geography - Essay Example McDonald’s dates its origin to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois in the year 1955, the ninth McDonalds restaurant overall. Ray Kroc in the later years purchased the McDonald brothers equity in the company and launched its worldwide expansion. In fact the company became so popular that with the successful expansion into the international markets it was called as the symbol of globalization. However, in the recent years it was also debated that the company was responsible for spreading unhealthy eating habits and has increased the incidence of obesity and other health problems. Besides, its prominence has also made it a common subject of public debates about corporate ethics and consumer responsibility. McDonalds restaurants are found in about 100-120 countries and territories around the world. In general, it is estimated that it serve nearly 54 million customers each day. McDonalds has become symbolic of globalization and since it is directly identified with United States culture and lifestyle, its expansion into the international market has been pointed out by critics as a part of Americanization and American cultural imperialism. Anti-globalization is a common term used to describe the political stance of people and groups who oppose the aspects of globalization and McDonalds remains a target of anti-globalization protesters worldwide (Wikipedia, 2007). Additionally, film’s such as â€Å"Super Size Me† that explores the horror of school lunch programs, declining health and physical education classes, food addictions were also blaming fast food restaurants like McDonald’s. Even will all these resistance and reparations in the world around, the company has improved and grown with more than 31,800 flagship restaurants serving burgers and fries in different countries and today McDonalds is more than a household name. It is estimated that about 30% of its locations are company-owned

Financial Crisis of 2007-2009 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Crisis of 2007-2009 - Essay Example Crash in the housing market also came under the occurrence in many regions of the world, as an outcome, a huge number of vacancies lingered. In addition, the crisis also played a vital role and made a deep impact in the breakdown of many businesses with falling off in consumer prosperity. The 2007 financial crisis is also termed as the Great Recession, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and Credit Crunch (Kolb, pp.77-139). The destruction of international financial institutions was outcome of the crash down of US housing bubbles, which lead to decline in the real estate pricing. Housing bubble is an economic bubble that arises in the local or international real estate market from time to time when the worth of the real estate properties faces a swift increase, which becomes unmatchable with the earnings and other economic factors. The financial crisis came to an end until mid of 2009, although it had left an indelible imprint across the globe that is still coming under experience. Ac cording to some research conducted by economists, it came under limelight that the crisis was completely manmade and was the result of wrong financial decisions. The stakeholders specifically the owners focused on the profit aspect of their business and neglected the risk factor involved in this profit making activity (United Nations, pp.1-10). In the years 2005-2006, the US housing bubble was packed, overcrowded and was at its highest point, which lead to the abrupt ground or the main cause due to which the crisis happened (Kolb, pp.77-139). The default rates that were high previously on subprime and adjustable rate mortgages further skyrocketed. The housing prices started to increase at a high percentage as banks started to provide the prospective mortgagee with more loans. Prospects were motivated by banks to take high loans ignoring the segment of interest rates, with a perspective and confidence that they would be able to repay the loans in less time. The housing prices dropped at a drastic speed as soon as the interest rates started climbing. Housing and credit upsurge lead to augmentation of various financial accords, namely mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO) at an unprecedented rate. This caught the attention of the local and international investors and corporations to plunge in the US housing market as they observed an opportunity to make potential profits from this market. With the turn down in the housing value, innumerable people including the global investors/institutions, borrowers and investors in subprime MBS faced heavy and noteworthy losses. The decline in housing value was so severe that had they auctioned the house, the recovery of the mortgage price would not have been possible. In 2006, the lenders of the housing loans received an incentive of foreclosure. They approached the legal officials for the recovery of their money (Kolb, pp.77-139). The banking organizations got a financial power and they s tarted absorbing customers’ wealth to make for their losses. This crisis was not only come under observance in housing sector but other factions of the economy also experienced the same drastic effects. The main reason for the crisis includes a number of factors. The mortgages come under sanction to a huge number of people, without

The Investor Life Cycle of ZipCar, Facebook, and Dunkin Doughnuts Coursework

The Investor Life Cycle of ZipCar, Facebook, and Dunkin Doughnuts - Coursework Example Zipcar, Facebook and Dunkin Doughnuts are companies operating in different industries, and therefore attract different investors in varying stages of the Investor Life Cycle. The four-stage investor life cycle includes the following: accumulation, consolidation, spending, and gifting. According to Hartung (2014), the growth of social networking giant on the back of increasing demand for social media would make the company’s stock idea for the individual who intends to accumulate. The basic notion behind this stage in the investor life cycle is that investors seek to aggressive growth for the future hence this is a fit beyond doubt. On the other hand, Krantz (2014) opines that Dunkin Doughnuts is a stable prospect for the future. Therefore its stocks fit perfectly within the second stage, as that stage typically asserts that an investor would be inclined to who perceive retirement planning as more vital, and hence, these stocks would fit perfectly into their bill. Zipcar’s continued dwindling fortunes in the market and recent mergers news would make its stock a perfect bill for an investor within the investor’s life cycle known as gifting (Savitz, 2013). In this phase, investors are more prone to have assets remaining at the end of their lives, but they focus more on estate planning. According to Burton (2013), calendar effects have emerged as a vital aspect of behavioral finance amongst present investors in the country. Calendar Effects implies that people analyze specific dates and periods in which stock prices to rise. This is absurd, but Wall Street research over the few years has validated this claim.  

Admission Essy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Admission Essy - Essay Example I realize success in this Doctoral Program requires me to apply a financial plan with efficient time management skills. I held a full-time job as a pilot while studying to receive my Master of Arts in English as a Second Language from the University of Phoenix. This combination of work and school challenged my time management skills, allowing me to successfully meet my financial obligations to the University and graduate on schedule. The difference between this program and my M.A. program is the online environment. I am experienced with the UOP learning model and appreciate its advantages for timely completion of projects. It was instrumental as a support system and the collaborative knowledge I gained was outstanding. The team approach exposed me to new ideas and perspectives in a non-threatening environment. I have an appreciation for constructive criticism as an essential learning tool and the pragmatic knowledge the UOP learning model facilitates. For many years it has been my goal to pursue a Doctorate, but until discovering the Education Specialist program there wasnt a program I felt passionate enough about to devote the time and energy. The Education Specialist program will enhance my educational background, further develop my intellectual capabilities, and prepare me to provide effective leadership in my diversified

Study question about William Carlos Williams' poem Essay

Study question about William Carlos Williams' poem - Essay Example And in this respect this poem â€Å"This Is Just To Say† by the poet is no different. This poem, disguised as a note glued on the refrigerator, could be interpreted in a multiple dimensions. There is no general agreement on the theme. â€Å"The poem could be concerned with the uselessness or self-entrapment of sexual desire, comparable to the expense of spirit in a waste of shame. Theres the potential oedipal reading, with the boy thwarted in an attempt to comprehend his origin; to learn of it from his mother. Or theres the reading that would suggest self-referentiality; it is the poem itself that means nothing.† (Matterson, 38) And there are scores and grosses of interpretations to this lean poem but the overall truth that ultimately catches the readers’ mind is the ultimate sincere approach that the poet takes in this poem. It should be taken into account that the only word capitalized in this poem is the word ‘Forgive’. Why would a poet suddenly capitalize a word in the midst of all lower cased words is he is really not sincere with the meaning of the word? William Carlos Williams’ poems stabilized themselves on the opposite pole of the likes of Ezra Pounds and especially T.S. Eliots whose poetry depicted recurrent use of reference to foreign art, religion, history or languages. He focused himself predominantly on local themes for his poems and with this smell of well know home court it is but impossible to be anything else but sincere. He was, all his life, sincere to his roots, his works and thereby to his poems as this poem â€Å"This Is Just To Say† reflects. Structurally, this poem represents the simplicity that blends just perfectly with sincere thought process of the poem. â€Å"It is typography rather than any kind of phonemic recurrence that provides directions for the speaking voice or for the eye that reads the lines silently.† (Marjorie, 26) The sense of sincerity should not

White Privilege Essay Example for Free

White Privilege Essay ?In essence, it’s a simple concept: white privilege refers to the both minor and significant advantages that white people have in today’s American society. To be honest reading this article was a huge eye opener for me. I still struggle with both believing that white privilege exists and figuring out how to get rid of it. I have never felt that I was privileged to be white, however, I suppose that could be because as McIntosh states â€Å"whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege† After reading McIntosh’s list of the daily effects of white privilege I now understand these privileges and can put myself into the shoes of other non-white individuals to see how they would perceive me as a privileged white woman. I have never thought of myself as being privileged, or better in any way that those that I come in contact with. The concept of white privilege does not deny my individual hardships that I’ve dealt with throughout life. Hardships can be circumstantial, they can be something we are born with, or even something that we cause on our own. These circumstances are for the most part out of our control. Some hardships are related to race, and those who haven’t experienced those particular race-related hardships, I now suppose are white. In most ways conferred dominance and the fact that whites have been labeled as superior in any way is the exact opposite of the way I feel about myself, and the way I view others in my daily life. After reading McIntosh’s article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, I suppose that I do see some advantages that I may have just always taken for granted. The one that may seem silly, but I’ve always wondered about is: why do they only make white â€Å"flesh† colored band aids? I t seems like a no brainer to me to make them in all flesh tones. In my school community which consists of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students I struggle to pick out white privileges. I do not feel that any of our teaching staff or administrators see themselves as dominant over any other race or culture within our school community. I suppose that the fact that our school principal, secretary, and most teachers are white would portray dominance within our race. The majority of our staff speak English, however we do have several bilingual teachers and staff members. In the classroom environment, other than our bilingual classrooms the population of white students is greater than that of any other race. As a teacher I am committed to equality and treating all of my students fairly and as equals in our classroom community. I do not think that 7 and 8 year old white students see themselves as dominant of more important than any other classmate. I can, however see how a Black, Hispanic, or students of other cultural background would feel at times to be the minority. I think that this feeling, however is taught to them at home, or somewhat of a learned feeling of identity. In my school community we do our best to incorporate other cultural history into our curriculum by designing lessons that educate our students about important people in our history from a variety of cultures. The majority of our schools population is comprised of white and Hispanic students. I think that as a whole we could do a better job at integrating more of the Hispanic culture into our school’s curriculum. After reading this article I now find myself more aware of the white privilege that I do hold, and am definitely going to work toward building my daily classroom routines and lessons to include a wider variety of cultures and discuss current events around the globe that my students can relate to.

Capm And Fama French Three Factor Model Finance Essay

Capm And Fama French Three Factor Model Finance Essay Shortly after the ground-breaking work of Markowitz on modern portfolio theory (1952) a new branch in Finance developed trying to explain the expected return on any financial asset. Soon the model with probably largest impact on the financial industry was born, the Capital Asset Pricing Model. Even after many different studies questioning the validity of the model, it is still the most used by practitioners. A lot of other models were subsequently developed on the same reasoning. Fama French Three-Factor Model is considered one of the most promising and consistent. We start this paper briefly explaining the CAPM and its shortcomings. On those grounds, we explain the Fama French model. Then, we test both models in US data from 1967 till now. Different portfolios were used, testing for the impact of size, book-to-market ratios, and the specific industry. We end up drawing conclusions on the results found. CAPM The Capital Asset Pricing Model (henceforth CAPM) has a very curious history, being built independently by Jack Treynor (1965), William Sharpe (1964), John Lintner (1965) and Jan Mossin (1966), all in the same time span of the early sixties. This work was based on the earlier revolutionary theory of Markowitz and also on Tobins Separation Theorem. The CAPM has several strong assumptions inherited from the said projects of mean variance efficiency that essentially create a perfect market environment. Investors are rational and risk averse, can borrow and lend unlimited amounts at the risk-free rate and have homogenous expectations and information about all assets returns. There are no taxes, inflation, transaction costs, no short selling restrictions and all assets are infinitely divisible and perfectly liquid. The assumptions constrain the setting for the CAPM world. They set a stage that only non-diversifiable risks are rewarded with extra returns, and since each additional asset introduced into a portfolio further diversifies the portfolio, the optimal portfolio must comprise every asset with each asset value-weighted. All such optimal portfolios comprise the efficient frontier. This makes the expected return of any asset or portfolio to vary linearly with the returns of the market portfolio, according to the following formula: Beta is the key measure as it gives the sensitivity of the excess returns of an asset or portfolio compared to the excess returns of the market portfolio. Since the unsystematic risk is diversifiable, the risk of a portfolio can be viewed as beta. The CAPM is best described by Sharpe (1988) as a simple, yet powerful description of the relationship between risk and return in an efficient market. This is a very intuitive thought process. The level of returns one expects to get is directly related to the exposure to market volatility. Stock specific error is diversified away when choosing the efficient portfolio, and as such the only source of return comes from choosing the relation your portfolio has with the market. The CAPM is so important that the standard deviation of a stock return no longer was the normally used risk measure, but rather its relation to the market returns. It is also the number one tool to find discount rates for company valuation and for portfolio management. However it has not been free of criticism. CAPM criticism After it was proposed, empirical tests were executed normally running the following regression: Where a proxy of excess market returns is used and regressed against a certain asset return. The Alpha of the regression indicates the excess return (either positive or negative) that is not explained by the CAPM. According to CAPM, as the correlation with market should completely explain its return, the apha of the previous regression should be 0. First of all, the use of a market proxy leads to Richard Rolls critique (1976). It is quite simple but revealing and it simply states the CAPM can never be tested as the exact composition of the market portfolio is not known. All proxies used might be mean variance efficient but the market might not, leading to all tests being inherently biased. Besides, the interpretation of Beta using market proxies leads to relative measures of risk, as the Beta obtained depends on the market proxy used. Besides Rolls opinion on the theory, a number of anomalies were found on the model. Characteristics such as size, earnings/price, Cash flow/price, book-to-market-equity, past sales growth had effects on average returns of stocks. These are called anomalies as they are not explained by CAPM, leading to the idea that risk is multidimensional and as such the CAPM is fundamentally wrong in its core conclusion. Eugene Fama and Kenneth French (1996) made the greatest stride, when stating that anomaly variables include a risk premium contained in the characteristics of these variables. These anomalies are mainly divided by two main factors. Size, which they explain theoretically, and relative distress, passing through the E/P and book to market as measures. Fama French Three-Factor Model Eugene Fama and Kenneth French since expanded the CAPM to the Fama-French (FF) tri-factor model (1992), which adds two variables to capture the cross-sectional variation in average stock returns associated with market: Beta, size, leverage, book to market and earnings-price ratio. This creates the following model: , which can be transformed into Where the factors added to the CAPM are the SMB (Small minus Big), a measure of the historic excess return of small caps over big caps, and HML (High minus Low), the same difference for returns of value stocks over growth stocks. This model is not as widely used as the CAPM, but we will test empirically if it performs better than the original one-factor model. Methodology After introducing the theoretical bases of these models, we will explain the methodology we used on our tests. We used data from Kenneth French ´s website, consisting of market excess returns from NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ firms and the values of returns from all those companies divided into size and book to market quintiles and also divided into five sections of industries Consumer Goods, Manufacturing (energy and utilities), High-tech, Healthcare and Service industry. The data is monthly from 1967 to 2010. Our variables of interest comprise the alphas of each regression (i.e., returns unexplained by the model) and the adjusted, which adjusts for the number of explanatory terms in a model unlike the regular, the adjusted increases only if new variables improve the model. We used all this data to run the normal empirical test regression expressed in (2). We will ignore Rolls critique in the tests and use a certain market proxy as in our opinion data on returns of a certain index representative of the country where investors negotiate is quite representative of market returns, as that data is amply divulged and influences all assets related. Results These are the results in regression form and the values of the alphas obtained with double standard error bands: Table 1 Regression Results from Size Portfolios (Values in parenthesis refer to the t-stat of the variable above) Looking at the alpha values of the regressions under the CAPM, the 4th quintile is the only one significant on a 95% confidence interval. All the beta values are significant and different than zero. Alpha values decrease as we go from portfolios of smaller to bigger companies, as does the of the regressions. As for the Fama French model, the values of factors are significant in all the size regressions, and the alpha value is only significant in the 5th quintile of biggest companies. The follows a similar behavior. These results seem to favour the tri-factor approach, as including the SMB variable seems to improve the quality of fit of smaller companies. The difference in the adjusted of the lowest 20% quintile between the CAPM and Fama French models is a whopping 30%, indicating that some unsystematic risks, captured by the difference between big and small firms, affect returns. In other words, these results favor Fama and French ´s model in explaining returns over the CAPM. Chart 1 Plot of CAPM alpha with double standard error band Chart 2 Plot of FF alpha with double standard error band These charts tell a more interesting story. The alpha values of the CAPM diminish a lot when going from small cap quintiles to large cap ones, from relatively high alphas to close to zero. Everything changes when using FF three-factor model where the alpha values are negative for small caps and go to positive when moving to bigger companies. The larger range of alphas in the CAPM over FF, especially in smaller companies, again indicates that returns are not fully captured by measuring only correlation with the market. Accordingly, by adding SMB this range is considerably reduced, especially in the portfolios based on the lowest 20% companies in size. Table 2 Regression Results from Book-to-Market Portfolios (Values in parenthesis refer to the t-stat of the variable above) Here the Betas of all regressions are significant. The fourth and fifth quintiles on the CAPM present a high alpha rejecting the null hypothesis that they are not significant, with a 95% confidence level. On the other hand, the FF model rejects only the lowest 20% B/M portfolios, and by the tiniest of margins. These results show evidence that Fama and French were indeed correct by considering the HML factor in their regression. In fact, the existence of significant alphas in the two highest quintiles in the CAPM, combined with the substantial differences in the adjusted 13% for the 4th quintile, almost 20% in the 5th again demonstrate that CAPM is not considering important variables in determining returns. Chart 3 Plot of CAPM alpha with double standard error band Chart 4 Plot of FF alpha with double standard error band As the B/M values increase, CAPMs results are ever worse regarding alpha. By adding double standard error bands, CAPMs portfolios based on the highest 20% value have alphas ranging from 0.1 and 0.6, very substantial values. FF performs much better, with alphas not moving far away from 0. Table 3 Regression Results from Industry Portfolios (Values in parenthesis refer to the t-stat of the variable above) Chart 5 Plot of CAPM alpha with double standard error band Chart 6 Plot of FF alpha with double standard error band Contrary to the previous analysis, the three-factor model only displays marginal improvements in the adjusted to the single-factor model when dealing with industry-based portfolios. In fact, the FF model has significant alphas in two different industries Health Care and Others while the CAPM has none. Moreover, the SMB variable seems to be irrelevant in the Consumer Goods and in other industries. We should not be surprised by these results, as the FF model was built around two ideas: small companies and those with high B/M ratios were undervalued by the market. Thus, when analyzing portfolios based on different restraints (like industry) the model will not perform much better compared to the CAPM. A note on Fama-French Three-Factor Model The FF model is an extension of the CAPM model in the sense that it uses two extra factors: SMB and HML. The first one increases the modulation of different size portfolios. The second one addresses the difference in book values of companies included in different portfolios. We suspect that SMB is in fact important whenever we are trying to predict the different performance of portfolios split using size as the criteria. The same reasoning can be used to portfolios split using book-to-market ratio as the criteria. We decided to apply this idea to the data, computing the average contribution of each factor to the total excess return of each portfolio. The resulting table is presented below. Table 4 Factor Contribution to Excess Return We can see that, as we suspected, SMB is in fact very relevant (19% on average) to explain the excess return of different portfolios split with market size criteria. That is even more critical when we are considering portfolios of smaller stocks. In those portfolios, the factor HML is not particularly important. When we move to book-to-market value different portfolios, it is HML that contributes significantly (14%), especially to high book-to-value stocks, and SMB can be neglected. Finally, when the criterion to split portfolios is neither size nor book-to-market, the two extra factors of the Fama-French model have no explanatory power on average. We can see the average weights are very close to standard CAPM. We can speculate on the difference across industries: for instance, hi-tech and health care stocks tend to have higher book-to-market ratios, and so the HML factor is relevant. It is possible that a factor like high dividend yield less low dividend yield might be robust to explain performance differences among portfolios split according to dividend yield level. We are not questioning the applicability of the Fama-French model. What we are addressing here is that each factor does not have a generalized relevant contribution to explain excess returns. In certain situations, like small cap portfolios and growth stocks, each factor in turn becomes very important. Outside of these native environments, the factors do not contribute to explain or predict excess returns. Final Remarks Throughout this work we have shown that Fama and Frenchs tri-factor model is superior to the CAPM in capturing some non-systematic anomalies not considered by the simple one-factor approach. These anomalies include the undervaluation of small firms and those with high B/M ratios. Adding variables that reflect this effect considerably improves the quality of fit of the model and eliminates loose ends as reflected by the significant alphas present in some portfolios using the CAPM. However, we must pay close attention to data, as performing a FF regression on data that does not reflect these variables, as industry does not improve the models. References and Other Bibliography Fama, E. F., French, K. R. (1992). The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns. The Journal of Finance, 47(2), 427-465. Fama, E. F., MacBeth, J. D. (1973). Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests. The Journal of Political Economy, 81(3), 607-636. Lintner, J. (1965). The Valuation of Risk Assets and the Selection of Risky Investments in Stock Portfolios and Capital Budgets. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 47(1), 13-37. Markowitz, H. (1952). Portfolio Selection. The Journal of Finance, 7(1), 77-91. Mossin, J. (1966). Equilibrium in a Capital Asset Market. Econometrica, 34(4), 768-783. Roll, R. (1977). A critique of the asset pricing theorys tests Part I: On past and potential testability of the theory. Journal of Financial Economics, 4(2), 129-176. Sharpe, W. F. (1964). Capital Asset Prices: A Theory of Market Equilibrium under Conditions of Risk. The Journal of Finance, 19(3), 425-442. Treynor, Jack L. (1965). How to Rate Management of Investment Funds. Harvard Business Review, 43(1), 63-75.